Sorry the long delay between parts…something about having a day job and a family. 😛

Today I would like to take a look at the history and purpose of tithing as seen in the norming norm of the Christian faith (i.e. the Bible).

Spoils of War

Starting at the beginning of the book, Abraham (then known as Abram) is the first person we see who give a tenth (the mathematical meaning of the word “tithe,” like Rocky mentioned in early comments) of anything to anyone. This event is preceded by Abraham’s victory over the warring king of Elam, who raided the town of Sodom and took Abraham’s nephew Lot as a slave (Genesis 14).

After his victory, Abraham begins the journey back home (he was north of Damascus by that time). Along the way he stops at the city of Salem to visit with the king of Sodom who came out to greet him. During this visit, Abraham gives 10% of his war spoils (slaves, money, and goods) to Melchezidek, the king of Salem and a “priest of God Most High” (Gn 14:18-20).

Why Abraham did this is unknown as the Bible does not say. It could have been because of a Mesopotamian custom of the time to give ruler of the land a 10% tax on one’s goods. Then again, it could have been just because Abraham heard God say to give Melchezidek some money as he did not want anyone to say that they made him rich (Gn 14:22-24). We simply don’t know.

Years later (read, ‘two thousand years later’) the writer of the New Testament book Hebrews uses this historical event to argue that since

• a) Abraham paid a tithe (10%) to priest Melchezidek, and
• b) the Israelite priestly tribe of Levi was in Abraham’s “loin” at that time (read, “was not born yet”), and
• c) Jesus was a priest “in the order of Melchezidek” (Psalm 110:4);
• Therefore, Jesus Christ is higher or greater then the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7).

While this God-breathed rationality explains the priest of Jesus Christ, is does not, however, really speak to the issue of tithing as it takes for granted the cultural norms of the time. Specifically, the author of Hebrews is using a 1st century understanding of a tithing concept set up by Moses to interrupt an earlier historical event in such a way that made sense to their current 1st century audience. Or, in simply terms, in order to grasp the concept tithing we must turn to the books of Moses (Exodus, Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers) as they are writings that set the stage for both the Jewish and Christian view of tithing.

Tithing In The Law of Moses

Four hundred or so years after Abraham, the Lord uses an old sheepherder named Moses to help deliver the Israelites out of slavery. During the 40 years that the Israelites roamed the desert lands between Egypt and the Promise Land (modern day Israel), God set about turning them into a people who looked, acted, and were different then any other people group on the planet. They were to be a priestly nation who’s very existent was to make the nations of the world come to worship the Creator of Heaven and Earth.

It was during this time of instructions that the Lord first brings up the concept of tithing:

“‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the LORD. No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’” -Leviticus 27:30-34

In a nutshell, God told the people of Israel that 90% of everything in the land is theirs to do with as they pleased. However, 10% (a tithe) of everything – grain, fruit, animal, or anything else – was to be given to God in remembrance that He is their King and Ruler.

It should also be noted that God allowed the people to ‘redeem’ the item being given as a tithes by adding 20% to the value of the item. For example, if I did not want to part with a tenth of my cows, I could simply give the Lord money, fruit or other items that matched the value of my cows plus 20%.

The Reasons Behind Tithing

I see two reasons in the Law of Moses behind tithing: support and kingship.

The first reason for tithing that I see in the Law of Moses has to do with the tribe of Levi. This tribe was to be separated from the rest of the nation with no inheritance or land. Instead, they were to dedicate themselves to the Lord and service as priests on behalf of the entire nation. As a token of their thanks for calling them to worship, the other tribes of Israel where to give the Levis all their tithes (Numbers 18:20-29) according to the verses laid out in Leviticus (mentioned above).

This practically meant that the Levi’s where to receive 10% from each of the other twelve tribes – adding up to 120% (10% + 10% + 10%+ 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10%). So much for living in poverty!

Along with supporting the priests, the Israelites where also to use the tithe of every three years to feed the “foreigners, the fatherless and the widows” who lived in their towns (Deut 14:28-29, 26:1-15).

The second reason for the giving of tithes has to do with the Kingship of God.

Throughout the Bible, God constantly reminded the people of Israel that the entire world was His (Ex 19:5). It was only by His mercy and grace that they where choose (through their forefather Abraham) to be His people. The land and harvest that they enjoyed yearly was a mark of this mercy.

In remembrance of this mercy, the people were to give to God 10% of their harvest – the firstfruits so to speak. Deuteronomy 14:22-27 and 26:1-15 talks about how the people are to bring their tithes to the location the Lord “will choose as a dwelling” and eat it in His presence. If they lived too far away to haul the food and/or livestock to the place where God dwelt, they could exchange the goods for silver and then buy whatever they wanted when they arrived. Then they were to “eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice”.

BTW – God even gave them permission to buy “wine or other fermented drink” with their tithe money (Deut 14:26). So much for alcohol being a bad thing!! 😉

Conclusion

Tithing in the Books of Moses was to be a tenth of all livestock, grain, fruit or vine produced each year. Part of this tithe was to be given to the tribe of Levi (locally as well as nationally) so that they could focus on calling the people to worship. Tithe was also to be used to help support the poor and downtrodden in the land.

The other part of the tithe was to be used in celebration of the Kingship of God – read, “it was to be used to throw a big party in the presence of God.”

We will continue our look into the history of tithing in the Bible next week while also trying to answer the following questions.

• Does it have to be 10% as the word ‘tithe’ seems to indicate?
• How do you calculate your tithe? Net or gross income? How about non-monetary items?
• Do you have to give your tithe to the local church and can you use mobile giving apps?
• The spiritual principles of giving (i.e. sowing and reaping)